RETIREMENT might mean Joan Cooper Kaaua is putting away the OHCRA paddle. But it doesn't mean she's bailing out of the canoe. OHCRA won’t be
the same without KaauaThis Saturday's state regatta marks the end of Kaaua's tenure as the chairwoman of the merchandising committee for the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association. She'll be moving to the Big Island in a few months.
It won't be a complete break from the paddling ohana, however. Kaaua hopes to retain her race rules position on the state umbrella association, Hawaiian Racing Association.
"It's been fun. I'll miss the people in OHCRA," Kaaua said. "I've been very happy with what I've done, especially being able to see the young coaches come up, the little boys who were toady little kids."
"I can't imagine her retiring from us completely," OHCRA president Joan Malama said. "I know we won't be seeing her just at the state races or the annual meetings. I know she'll be around."
Kaaua has been paddling since "small kid times" as a member of Outrigger Canoe Club in the 1940s and '50s. There were few races for women back then and Kaaua paddled in the blue-ribbon senior women's event as a teen.
THE rivalry was friendly but intense between the elite women's crews of Outrigger and Waikiki Surf Club. Even today, when familiar faces meet on the beach, there is plenty of teasing and good-natured jabs.
"I can't say anything bad about Joannie except we used to beat the hell out of her crews back then," said Hannie Anderson, a founder of Na Wahine O Ke Kai, the women's Molokai-to-Oahu race, and a member of Outrigger's then nemesis, Waikiki Surf Club.
"There was such a rivalry between Outrigger and Surf Club, between Punahou (Kaaua's alma mater) and Roosevelt (Anderson's). We've had a lot of good times together. I remember the first time she came over to Molokai with us for the men's race. We spent all night in the Pau Hana Inn pool, swimming.
"She's been such an asset and has led us to many things, especially on the merchandising end. Maybe she's 'retiring,' but I can't see her disappearing."
Kaaua also is leaving her job as Punahou's alumni coordinator after 16 years. A 1951 graduate, she has worked at the school for 28 years, overseeing her last luau last month.
As alumni coordinator, Kaaua has worked extensively with the strong Punahou alumni association on the Big Island. She'll no doubt drop by there and lend a helping hand if asked by Moku O Hawaii (the Big Island's canoe racing association).
KAAUA's passion, however, is for the historical. She has been the walking archives for OHCRA and HCRA and the creative genius behind the T-shirt and merchandise designs at championship regattas.
"I'm sure one of the things she'll get around to doing is some sort of paddling history for us," Malama said. "She has such wonderful old pictures. And she has so many wonderful old stories, not just of paddling, but of surfing and the beach boys at Waikiki. She was quite a surfer and knew all the big-name watermen at Waikiki.
"Personally, I'll miss her. She's been a very good friend. Nobody wants to say goodbye yet. And we don't want to think about her not being there to answer questions, argue about the race rules or designing the T-shirts."
Kaaua, who has helped the OHCRA gross $400,000 in merchandise in 10 years, has seen the sport evolve from a local to international level, from a form of recreation to serious stuff. Paddlers are now considered well-respected athletes, not just people who hit the water then hit the beer cooler.
If you have time Saturday, drop by the officials' stand at Keehi Lagoon. Talk with Joannie. And don't forget to say thanks.
Cindy Luis is a Star-Bulletin sportswriter.
Her column appears weekly.